Los Angeles Times

Yes, lots of comics were racist. A new generation of Black artists is reinventing them

Manuel and Geiszel Godoy are military veterans, and they believe deeply in social justice. But above all, they are entrepreneurs who saw an underdeveloped sector in their industry and dove in.

"We have to show that we can pull a Tyler Perry as a community," Manuel Godoy, president of Black Sands Entertainment, says in a recent video interview. "The idea is that the bigger the company gets, the better the IP does, the more everybody wins, and we can fund our projects ourselves because we have the experience, the expertise to do it."

The Godoys' niche is a growing one: indie comics by Black artists, written for Black families about Black people, with a focus on tales of Africa before slavery. Among their projects are an upcoming animated series and the Black Sands Publishing app.

"If we get this done," Godoy says, "we've proven that you no longer have to walk through the gate

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